Through the wonders of modern technology (err, YouTube), it’s possible for one to watch old television clips through the magic of the internet.
Steve Zautke and his Traction Reaction channel uploaded mid-day television broadcasts from a local Indianapolis TV station as they did multi-hour shows during practice for the 1995 Indianapolis 500.
A key theme during the first of these broadcasts was about Team Penske and their struggles at Indianapolis so far that month. Defending IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 champion Al Unser Jr. and his teammate, fellow two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Emerson Fittipaldi, both had tremendous difficulty getting their Penske cars up to speed for reasons that would be confirmed in Unser Jr.’s book.
The consensus among many at the track was that the team would figure out the issues and make the race. Less than two weeks after the first broadcast, both Unser Jr. and Fittipaldi were on the outside looking in when the gun went off at 6:00 p.m. to signal the end of qualifying.
There were consequences for not being fast enough to qualify at Indianapolis, with the exception of the 25/8 rule for 1996/7. A team had to be at its best (or close to it) to make the race at the roundabout of 16th and Crawfordsville.
On several occasions through the last decade, there have been only 33 entrants to the 500 for various reasons. That reality, though not confirmed, appears to be the case again for 2026 after various reports surfaced throughout the week about potential deals.
Those deals have surfaced thanks to PREMA’s inability to be at Indianapolis again and Andretti Global’s decision not to run their fourth entry after Colton Herta‘s availability was no longer guaranteed following Formula 2’s addition to the Formula 1 Canadian Grand Prix weekend schedule in Montreal.
The Indianapolis 500 occupies a unique place in motorsports. There are few marquee events in racing where no spots are guaranteed and every starting position is earned.
Look around the world. The Daytona 500 has numerous guaranteed spots. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is invitation-only and the Monaco Grand Prix is confined to the Formula 1 entry list.
The Knoxville Nationals and the Chili Bowl have no provisionals. The Snowball Derby has two provisionals out of a possible 37 starters. Qualifying matters at these races and it should matter at Indianapolis, too.
Look at the drama from 2023. Graham Rahal is sitting in his car on pit road while teammate Jack Harvey goes out for one more qualifying attempt, the gun firing off as he’s warming up for his final qualifying attempt.
As Rahal sits helplessly on pit road, Harvey goes through his four-lap run and manages to pull off a remarkable final two laps to get into the starting field with a crowd cheering him on from the grandstands.
The Herculean efforts drivers and teams go through to qualify for the Indianapolis 500 have been told through the ages. The misadventures of missing the race are prime fodder for social media. The race loses part of the qualifying mystique with an entry list of only 33 cars, and much of the drama during practice goes away since every car entered will make the show.
Every effort should be made to get 34 or more cars on the Indianapolis 500 entry list. There is added attention on practice when it’s known that one or more cars will go home, since there are no guaranteed spots.
Drama and tension draw eyeballs to a sport. Don’t let Indianapolis 500 practice and qualifying lose that this year after the drama that’s surrounded qualifying in previous years.
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.
I do miss the days when Indy had many drivers vying for the final few spots. Sometimes they’d have drivers in spare chassis after the primary was looking good to be in the field. I wonder if the series now regrets not extending charters to Prema.
I don’t understand the inner workings of Indycar well enough to know whether this was the right call, but from the outside looking in, it looks questionable. It seems Indycar should be doing their level best to keep any interested teams in the fold, especially a team like Prema, who has a long history in auto racing.
Either way, looking forward to the race!